10 years ago today… Revisiting ‘Kal Ho Naa Ho’

Release date: 28th November 2003

Director: Nikhil Advani

*ing: Shah Rukh Khan, Saif Ali Khan, Preity Zinta, Jaya Bachchan and many more

It’s hard to believe that a decade has passed since the ever popular ‘Kal Ho Naa Ho’ released. There are many reasons that the film is remembered even today whether it be Shah Rukh Khan’s “6 din ladki in” plan, Saif Ali Khan’s awkward Gujarati accent or even Preity Zinta’s chashmish look which sheds once she finds love. It could even be because of the openly homosexual references made and the always-alarmed character of Kantaben making you laugh until your stomach hurts.

‘Kal Ho Naa Ho’ was about Naina (Preity Zinta) and her family. She had grown up watching her mother and paternal grandmother argue ever since her father committed suicide. She asked for an angel to enter her life and Aman (Khan) miraculously takes up residence in the opposite house as a relative of the ‘uncle’ who lives there. He makes Naina face her demons and they fall in love. However, due to a life-threatening illness, Khan goes about trying to convince Naina that she loves her classmate Rohit (Saif), who loves her too.

The beauty of ‘Kal Ho Naa Ho’ is, quite simply, in selfless love. Khan’s character knows that he will not live long and he therefore makes it his mission to create a love story of the friendship between Naina and Rohit. Aman’s ability to put everything right is what stands out as does his witty and funny way of making a rightful home in your heart. The stunning title track sung by Sonu Nigam sums up almost everything there is to know about life and this adds to Khan’s character and the film as a whole.

‘Kal Ho Naa Ho’, with its gay comic references, will go down in history as bringing a subject to the forefront which people are able to take light-heartedly. Kantaben, the maid, who always seems to walk in on Aman and Rohit in the most hilariously homosexual situations and audience’s can’t help but laugh at her fear of Rohit being a man’s man rather than a woman’s man. To top the comedy in this film is the unbelievably funny performance of Satish Shah and Ketaki Dave as Rohit’s Gujarati parents. In fact, the whole ‘Gujju’ part before the start of Maahi Ve is laugh-out-loud funny to the embarrasment of Rohit himself.

It has to be said that the most iconic scene in the movie very much cemented Khan’s place in the industry all over again. When Naina is walking away from Rohit’s love after realising there was a plan to win her over, Aman (Khan) – in the middle of a train station no less – confesses his own feelings for her as if he is expressing what’s in Rohit’s heart. If that isn’t the most tear-jerking scene ever in the entire movie then don’t know what is.

As ‘Kal Ho Naa Ho’ celebrates 10 years since release, BizAsia urge you to take that trip down memory lane and think about what you love most about the movie. Producer Karan Johar and director Nikhil Advani, we salute you!